Katrina Soto is making resolutions she hopes will help her both in the classroom and on the volleyball court.

Soto, a sophomore Nursing major and PNW Volleyball player, has resolved to challenge herself academically and athletically.      

In preparation for the Spring 2025 Volleyball season, Soto says she wants to become a more 

volleyball athlete.

“I like to believe that I have not hit my peak yet,” she said. “I want to keep improving and have a steady mindset of ‘not every day will be okay, and that is alright,’ and just keep moving forward and pushing myself to become a better athlete”.”  

To improve, Soto has started doing more weightlifting and practicing volleyball independently. 

“I lift almost every day and have one rest day each week and go into the gym on my own time to work on specific things,” she said. “I am trying to fix my hitting and blocking, which is my weakest point as a player. I would usually have a friend come in with me to toss balls and do a three-step approach or static block jumping.”

“I try and press my hands over the net, which is essential as a blocker, or have the other person throw the ball and use my eye-work to see myself block the ball,” said Soto. “I would also put myself at arms-length away from a wall in my dorm and jump-touch it, and I do not jump forward, but I would push my shoulders forward and touch the wall.”

As for academics, Soto has plans.

“My goal is to get straight-As and raise my GPA,” she said. “I have been getting mostly A’s and like one B, but I have been on the cusp on straight A’s and I want to get that this go-around.”

It may be challenging because of her classes.

“One of the hardest classes I will be taking this semester is Pharmacology, the study of medicine and drugs,” said Soto. “What is difficult is memorizing every medication, what it is used for, and how much the body can accept.

“Another hard class is Foundations of Nursing Clinical, where we take weekly tests called ‘validations’ in which we need to perform certain tasks that we need to do in a hospital setting,” she said.

As with Volleyball, Soto knows academic performance will require repetition and time management.

“I study with flashcards and I like study groups,” she said. “I need to spend as much time I can on each subject, even if it means saying no to certain things such as going out with friends.”